Page 17 of Capitally Engaged

Preston’s cheeks turned pink.

“I can manage turning in a slow circle, you’re right. It’s more out of habit than anything.”

I leaned on his shoulder with my elbow, bringing my face next to his. I had no real reason to be this close to him. Simply sitting together and talking was pulling off the facade just fine, but it felt right.

“Well, I think your fiancée might like it if you spun in slow circles outside of your living room.”

“Well then, we might just need to make that happen,” Preston responded, his eyes locked on mine. From this close, I could see the speckles of caramel and gold in his eyes.

A throat cleared behind us, causing us to jump apart.

I turned around to see a blond woman and a man who bore more than a passing resemblance to Preston standing there.

“Well, hi there, big brother. How great to see you here. Anyone you want to introduce us to?” his brother asked, the look on his face accusatory.

Preston sighed the heavy sigh of a put-upon older brother, standing up to shake hands and give the woman a hug.

“Hayden, Charlotte, I’d like to introduce you to Jax.”

I stood, offering my hand out to shake. “It’s really nice to meet you both.” Hayden took my extended hand, shaking it, but looked distracted. He continued to eye Preston, expecting more explanation. Charlotte rolled her eyes and took my hand after Hayden dropped it.

“You’ll have to excuse Hayden. Sometimes he’s incapable of keeping up basic social norms.”

“Well, you would be too if you saw your workaholic brother with a date in public for the first time in years. I don’t think I’ve heard of you with anyone at an event like this since?—”

“Hayden, Charlotte, it’s good to see you. Thanks for joining us tonight.” A new voice joined the conversation.

Preston seemed saved from the trip down memory lane by the appearance of the senator, having finally made his way through the crowd to where we sat.

Hayden managed to shake the senator’s hand with more grace than he had mine. “That was a great speech, sir. It’s great to hear about your plans for education and literacy in your next term. You know that’s a cause important to us.” Hayden slipped his arm around Charlotte’s waist, who in turn placed her hand on Hayden’s chest. They moved with the familiarity of two people who had found their match. Preston and I should take notes.

“Well, thank you. I can only take credit for the delivery. You know how lucky I am to have your brother putting words intothe best order possible for me.” The senator turned his eyes to Preston and me.

“Jax, it’s great to see you. I’m so glad you convinced your fiancé to bring you out of hiding and join us this evening.”

I felt Preston wince as Hayden choked on the sip of whiskey he took before the senator started talking.

“Yes, I’m glad things are all out in the open. Can you excuse us for a minute, sir? I’ll catch up with you later to debrief?”

The senator nodded, unaware of the grenade he just tossed, his eyes already searching for the next person to glad-hand.

“I’m sorry,what?”Hayden started his questioning a bit louder than socially acceptable.

“Not here,” Preston gritted out, smiling at everyone who looked over at us, grabbing Hayden’s arm and steering him to the back of the room.

I fell in step with Charlotte as we followed them through the space.

“So, Preston mentioned you worked for a non-profit?”

Charlotte smiled at me as we dodged other guests. “Yes, I work for the Independent Bookstore Alliance as a Development Associate. We have resources that help keep independent bookstores afloat when they run into troubled times.” As a reader and an author, there was nothing I loved more than a good bookstore, especially an independent one with booksellers championing their favorite novels. I had a good feeling Charlotte and I would get along, while I was around at least.

“Oh, that’s great. I love a good bookstore, especially one with a good romance section,” I said, practiced in hiding my writing identity under the guise of a bibliophile.

“A girl after my own heart. We’ll have to talk more about that when we have more time and my boyfriend’s head isn’t close to exploding,” Charlotte said as we exited the ballroom and turned left.

I let out a surprised laugh. “You seem to handle the unexpected well.”

“I haven’t been around the Brandt brothers all that long, but one thing I know for sure is they’re full of surprises.”

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